Dean Schubert

cool stuff!

I saw some of that shit last night. That's the stuff that gives white folks a bad name! Wille,Johnny, Hank1 and 3, Buck, etc people who know , know.

Haha...you'll love this: they're all based on art by a woman named SYLVIA JI. Since you're known for your day of the dead skulls, I bet a lot of people will get confused and come to you for more and more of those.

It seems like guys whose portfolios have at least one color Dali portrait with wet white highlights end up doing lots of those. Color portraits are probably my least favorite trend in tattooing.

I think this is the forum where we don't have to encounter that trend too much. I kind of want to do one really well though and then call it crap. If you like that stuff, get into photography. Also on that wet look, Phuck Photoshop. I live in the middle of nowhere and we've got this whack tattooer that's decided to team up with the local casino in order to bring us a convention featuring the lower end color portrait people. yay.

its cool to see all the new tattooers getting into watercolors from the gate, It was practically dead when I started out. Good to see it in full force. Some of these kids blow my mind. I think they were painters first. For me it was the other way around.

I don't think people should limit themselves with simple big and black. I ask the client what they really want for a new tattoo. Then I figure out a way to make that happen through lots of lines various colors , and possibly going over the image with white up to three times before I put the new image on. But overall if I never did another cover-up I'd be stoked. I keep telling myself - no more cover-ups. On the other hand, it feels great to eliminate unwanted tattoos for people. I'm close to having a suit and I have no cover-ups. If the tattoo is there it doesn't lie. If people keep covering their work with the trend du jour, the cover-ups don't stop and they end up looking like a confused mess. If you don't like your old work just wait 10-20 years and it'll either be cool or funny. I know there's all kinds of exceptions to this theory, so whatever, there's my 2-cents worth.

beer is medicine

I need more than one kind

Before-light meal and a good shit. After sushi, beer, medicine

for all you tuna lovers ALBA CORE

I'd like to thank the academy, my parents for letting me be the weird kid I was, huck Spaulding for the red and mr Mario Desa for being an all around good gent.

My spaulding red has been healing since 1994!

Here's a set I've done within the last year. An appropriate one for election day. And, if you cross the hands, it says Free Feel. How cool is that!

That's a good point. I'm not an artist, so I really relish the time I get to spend in shops. If that means the artist takes a few breaks and I get to hang out and here a few more stories, all the better. But if it ends up costing me twice as much, or I end up locked in the shop overnight getting a 9-hour tattoo (which happened once), then I'm not as into it.

Also: you are one lucky bastard to have work from Filip!

I agree on the money thing. Milking it ain't cool. Haven't had that experience. I've watched it go down though by people who shouldn't have to play that game!

From personal experience- Fastest, Filip Leu . Its ok though to be slow I've got some name brand tattoo work that was done slowly. Sometimes its fun to get away from the clock, take your time and have some fun.

I would love to attend that event in SF. The east coast has their owls the west has the sugar skull. It has gotten so trendy but these tattoos have soul and I love them. Here's one I've done recently.

I love motorcycles and have been riding since I was 10. Here's some pics of my '46 knucklehead. I'm also almost done with a 05 buell project. Hopefully the pics will come up here.

Great starter bike, tank probably refers to someone selling just a gas tank for a bike.

these kids and their tattoos.

California law - no tattooing under 18 period. However........ ok my kid is 16 and has grown up around it her whole life. due to the law I can't say if she's been tattooed or not. No way do I feel ok with a bunch of tattoos on her at this point. I also wouldn't want to use my influence to encourage more tattoos, thus pigeon holing her into the profession. As parents we have a lot of influence. My kid works at the shop and she would love to have a bunch of tattoos but come on, I want her to have options in life and as much as I want to validate myself by having her follow in my footsteps, I feel its best as a parent to restrict her tattoo desires. It is not part of our culture to have multiple tattoos as a minor. If we allow our kids to do as they please as minors, we impede their ability to develop as a part of our culture as a whole. Its easy to say fuck the mainstream, be cool get tattoos. I find that idea (as a heavily tattooed parent) to be selfish. When we pay hard earned money for our tattoos, we take them seriously. When they're free, or earned through chores they should do as part of family support, they become frivolous. Make them earn it,(from cash money made working) then they appreciate the tattoo on all levels. Thats how I see it. Others may see it another way and that's their choice. But is it ever ok? my answer is yes. This is good forum conversation by the way.

oh well everyone has their ups and downs but I thought this was for the customers first and myself second. I'll quit and paint when its all about me. But a good topic of debate. Is tattooing for the needs of the customer or do we limit ourselves to stay within an established style we wish to recognized by other artsits for?

top of the arm feels like a massage

There is no such thing as the best rose. Its not a competition, more of an appreciation, repulsion, or somewhere in between. My personal fave is Henry Goldfield, He rules the rose in SF His chest piece is a giant rose from Oakland's Shakey Jake done in the early 60's I believe. Many tattooers and their families wear Henry's roses. I don't have photos available right now , but I wear one and my wife has a 3/4 sleeve of 3 roses from Henry. When I got mine, he gave me the drawing which proudly hangs in the shop. Next to the rose it says" Dean, here's your rose. Follow the rose in life and you'll never go wrong. Good luck to you." Most of the roses I see today are very well done in a variety of styles. I like rose tattoos with a black outline made by people over 50. But hey, whatever you're into, there's room for it all.

under the but cheek/top of the leg, then sternum, ribs , knee, back of knee, I also hate the shin. It all sucks. But worth it.

I hate to say it because I have some issues with the machine and its lack of cool lineage , But using the swashdrive has helped the hell out of my hand. It won't help with the stretching hand. My pain seems to come and go over the years. Also, it depends on what I'm tattooing, and my psychological comfort with the material. Days where its a big dragon with a million scales end up hurting. A chiropractor told me to vary my tube sizes so the hand doesn't get use to one position. I'm down with the diet idea. I think at least 75% of our activity performance is related to diet. Its like a car, you put bad fuel and too much oil in the car it runs like crap. Also, we tend to work too much. Overuse the equipment with too little rest..... you know the story.

I just did a little blog entry on how punk rock and tattoos came together for me. I'd like to hear others stories on how the two have gone together in their lives. Thanks ,Dean

Even sharing info with real tattooers online bugs me. You want info? Pay up fool. Get tattooed or buy art or machines from people you respect and ask them questions. Maybe they'll give you a straight answer, maybe they won't .I have no desire to share info with who knows who. I've personally spent tens of thousands of dollars, travelled all over the states, been to Japan and Europe to get the info I was looking for. The Last thing I want to do is give info to some suck-ass with less than 10 years. IN! Pay Money and keep your ears open and your mouth shut!

Greg Irons- the new school of 1980. Thanks for swiss cheese water! I love it and I wear it. (although grime did the work) Still trying to finish my 80's-90's style bodysuit Ha Ha. Sticking with the theme even though I'm mostly over it.